What textbooks are most commonly used in for English reading comprehension in Japanese high schools? More specifically for 3rd year students. This can be in classes led by Japanese teachers or by native English teachers.
I’m planning on doing a short research project for my Masters comparing the content of regular classroom textbooks with that of the texts that appear in the EIKEN 2 reading section. The idea is to see if the materials used in classrooms is suitable to prepare students for the exam and, if not, to highlight gaps that could be addressed.
I should also note that I know that there are many books available specifically to prepare for each level of the EIKEN tests. I’m not interested in these as much – I want to find out which books are used in general classes (not exam preparation classes)
I’m happy to hear any (constructive) criticisms to this research question and any ideas on how to tweak it.
Thanks in advance!
3 comments
Here are some I’ve seen in use: be, Dual Scope, Next Stage, Evergreen.
I would offer the (hopefully constructive) criticism that comparing HS texts to Eiken 2 is not a very worthwhile endeavor. The high school texts are aimed specifically and only at preparing students for university entrance exams. Eiken, on the other hand, is a for-profit organization that aims to promote their tests as a better (and in fact the only) measure of knowledge of the subject of English (notice that neither the textbooks nor Eiken have a goal of measuring or encouraging functional use of the language).
Whether your Master’s is in education or applied linguistics, rather than comparing these two things with each other, I think it would be better to compare one (or both) to something aimed at developing a functional ability with the language.
in addition the issues raised by the panty thief, EIKEN 2 is supposed to be keyed to MEXTs HS English curriculum, so you’re essentially checking whether the people who make the texts in EIKEN 2 are doing what they want (mirroring the level the government-designed curriculum is aiming for) or failing.
The line of Oxford Graded Readers are used in many senior high schools. Stage 2-6.